Episode #400: Redefining Boutique Fitness with Matan Gavish: Confronting the Silent Pandemic of Self-Defense for Women

When Matan Gavish, a former Special Forces commander in charge of combat training, discovers the "silent pandemic" of rising sexual assault against women in urban areas, he repackaged his Krav Maga skill set to empower a reluctant and fearful audience to learn to take back their safety. He is the Founder of FITHIT in NYC and is passionate about solving this problem.

Gavish states, "Somewhere along the line, it became crystal clear to me that there is a problem, a real big one that is not being addressed by anyone, and I have the skillset to solve it. And that is the problem of sexual assault against women in big cities. It is it is being referred to as a 'silent pandemic.' It does not get the attention that it deserves." 

Gavish found himself in a unique position to potentially help address this. He worked hard to "repackage" Krav Maga into something that would be attractive to those least likely to enjoy or want to partake in the activity. He came to realize that most of his target audience's fears were mental, not necessarily physical. After removing the 'contact part' in the beginning and helping reframe a customer's definition of what a "fighter" is . . . he found that he was able to help alieviate these concerns within an hour of training. His logo and old name--Krav Maga Academy--were also a part of the barrier to entry. He rebranded to FITHIT with the word "Fit" first and "Hit" second to emphasize that it was a fitness experience with the added benefit of learning serious self-defense at the same time.

In this episode, Pete and Gavin discuss: 

1. How the problem of sexual assault against women in big cities be addressed and (possibly) improved.
2. How the martial arts can be (re)packaged to help to attract the least likely client for self-defense.
3. What the FITHIT experience is and how it can it help people build self-defense skills in a safe and fun environment.

Click here to download transcript.

Other episodes you'll enjoy around self-defense: 

John Mirrione: https://www.halotalks.com/john-mirrione-owner-of-harmony-by-karate-harmony-power-foundation/ 

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